We decide to make a change, sooner than we thought. Smid will start at 4 for Moon, who has given us nothing.
At 0-2 Bryant next. They’ve gotten beaten up twice. They don’t do much of anything well.
11/21: Down 3, 15:37. Down 7, 8:28. 31-38 at the half. We’re flat again, not moving well on O or D.
Down 14, 15:31. I’m trying all kinds of different things but nothing’s working. Down 21, 9:01. 57-71 at the end. We never led.
17 TOs again, they had 7. They shot 45%. The only consistend players are Clerq, Bick and Price. Holden played 25 min. and had no points, 1 RB and didn’t play much D.
Dad says I need to wake them up somehow. In practice, as soon as they start playing without fire I stop everything and get them going again. He says to react to listless play instantly.
In a game take anybody out who isn’t playing with everything he has. If I need to sit all five, do it.
At Savannah State. They’re 3-1, but against nobodies. Their starting PF is hurt. We’re trying to get the guys to play with some energy, as Dad suggested.
11/24: We get energy early, up 7, 15:49. Up 14, 9:11. The backcourt is controlling the pace and scoring easily. Up 22, 2:41. 42-22 at the half. Energy was there, esp. at 1 and 2.
Up 17, 13:33. Up 11, 8:48. I call a TO and sit three guys for not hustling. It shakes it up and we go on a 9-2 run. Up 21, 3:22. 66-52 at the end. A good night and we got that 2-2 road start. I’ll take it!
We got outrebounded for the first time, but only 9 TOs. WE shot only 36% but held them to 38%.
24, 1, 3 for Clerq our most consistent player. 20, 3, 4, 2, 1 for Bick. Price had 8, 10, 1, 3. Not much from Holden or Smid and nothing from the bench. This win came from the backcourt with some help from Price.
The 3 and 4 slots are simply not producing. We don’t have any answers. At least we’re going home for three games.
Price tweaked an ankle. It doesn’t look serious and we don’t think he’ll miss a game.
Jess Wynn, to do the impossible
1 and 1 again
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:06 am
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2-1 for the home stand
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:15 am
Total Sports Magazine
November 25
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
Well, much as I hate to admit it, Jess Wynn, the boy wonder, and son of the sainted Will Wynn, isn’t doing such a bad job at SDSU. He has his team at 2-2 after 4 road games.
Sure, they haven’t played anybody who is anybody, but teams at the bottom of Div. I are well advised NOT to schedule any good teams as they begin their possible climb up from the bottom. What’s the point? The hope is to slowly and steadily recruit kids who will make the program better, and as that happens, to beef up the schedule little by little.
Back to Wynn and his coaching. He really only has three players, his PG, Mike Bick, his C, Tre Price, and Tim Clerq, who starts at SG, backs up the PG, and could probably play any of the 5 spots on the court. Clerq is easily the best player on the team.
Wynn has done a fairly sophisticated job of using 7-8 players to fill the 3 and 4 spots. None of them do much of anything, but rotating them in and out will give someone a chance to emerge, at least that seems to be the hope. In the meantime at least there are fresh legs on the court.
Rookie coaches, especially those with little or no experience (Wynn never played the game and never served as an official assistant though he was on the bench with his dad for the past two seasons) often lose games they should win. This hasn’t happened to SDSU, at least not yet. The two games they lost, they lost on nights where they simply didn’t play well, despite the coach trying as many things as there were to try.
I’m a long way from being ready to be impressed by the kid from Storrs, but I am not suggesting that he be put in the recycle bin yet. Let’s see if he is able to grow and learn from here.
Jess Wynn’s journal, continued:
We look at the numbers every possible way and come to the conclusion that after Clerq, Bick and Price… we don’t have much. We decide to try Fox at the 3 and to give Evans more time. We don’t mind playing with the lineup and we’ll keep doing it as long as we need to, which may be all season.
Loyola-Maryland, 0-3 is in. They seem to RB well but they’re terrible with the ball.
This is our home opener and I’m hoping for a win. We’re trying everything to get a crowd. For the last 3 years the average home crowd has been 642 so we’ve been filling about 1 in 10 seats. I speak with Truck and he agrees to “Dollar night.” Anyone buying ticket in advance gets in for a dollar.
11/28: Up 7, 15:22. Up 4, 8:33. We’re not doing a lot on O but our D is stopping them. Up 6, 3:45. 24-24 at the half.
Clerq is scoring, as usual, Price is playing really well inside and Bick is doing well at the Point. I tell the guys we need to generate some O, and to keep doing what we’re doing on D. We never trailed and the only tie after 0-0 was at the buzzer.
We go on an 11-0 run to start the half. Up 17, 13:59. Up 20, 8:38. Up 20, 3:44. 60-43 at the end. Excellent D.
One thing we’ve done really well is staying out of foul trouble.
20, 6, 3 for Clerq, 13, 9, 2 for Price, 9, 4, 3 for Bick. Smid had 8, 3, 2, 1 and held his man down. Fox was okay at the 3 and Holden had a good game. Maybe he likes coming from the bench better than starting, some guys do.
Dollar night was a bust, 703 in attendance. TOs continue to be a problem, 17 tonight.
4-1 North Dakota is in. These guys have been playing well. We need to stop their backcourt.
12/1: Up 6 with energy, 15:44. #2 on Clerq, 14:22, up 8. That hurts. #2 on Price, 9:38, up 9. First time we’ve had to deal with foul trouble. Up 3, 2:11. 29-27 at the half.
I tell them to try to stay out of foul trouble but we have whistle happy refs tonight. Holden is helping from the bench and Fox is playing well at both ends.
#3 on Clerq, 17:33, up 6. #4 on Clerq, 14:22, up 14. Somehow we’re holding the lead with our best player barely in the game. #3 on Price, 11:21, up 16.
Our 2nd best is also missing minutes. #4 on Price, 5:33, up 15. Bick is steadying us, Holden is doing a great job, Fox is handcuffing his man, and Smid is steady. #5 on Clerq, 3:01. He played 16 minutes. Up 14. 64-53 at the end. Great D won this one.
15 TOs but +8 RBs and we made it tough on them to score and to move the ball. Holden had 14, 5, 1, 3, Bick had 11, 5, 2, Price had 9, 6, 4, 2, Fox had 9, 5, 2, 1, 2, Smid had 5, 4 and played good D. Have we found our rotation?
622 show up.
We decide to do another dollar day and to play up our 4-2 record, which I am thrilled with.
Andy Gray continues to call recruits every week but not much is happening and we don’t expect much until SAT scores come in at the end of January.
Northern Kentucky, 2-4 is in. 1 and 2 do most of the scoring but they’re both sloppy. This team doesn’t look that good.
12/5: Up 2, 15:01. Down 3, 7:22. #2 on Clerq, 6:39, up 1. #2 on Bick, 3:11, down 4. 35-35 at the half. No foul trouble for our first 5 games and nothing but for the past two. We’re getting help from the bench and taking care of the ball. Need to tighten the D.
Up 2, 15:27. #3 on Bick, 14:11, down 1. #3 on Clerq, 11:19, down 7. #4 on Bick, 9:22, down 10. I raise the level to 8 and go man. #4 on Clerq, 6:03, down 5. We’re not that far down but with 2 of my top 3 in foul trouble it’s not easy.
#5 on Clerq, 2:57, down 3. #5 on Bick, 1:19, down 5. It’s only #6 so no shots. They get it to 7, :55.
Holden hits a 3, :41, we foul. They hit both, down 6. Fox hits a 3, we foul, :27. They hit the 1st miss the 2nd, we hit another 3, foul, :13, down 1.
They miss the 1st, we RB, TO, :08. I want Price to take the shot. We bring it in, they steal the pass and keep it away from us. 64-65 at the end.
So close! Fouls to Bick and Clerq killed us. I didn’t get a T but it was close. Maybe I should have taken one early in the half. After the game Dad says I should have, sometimes it changes the way the class are going.
We were out rebounded again but only 9 TOs. Fouls were 13-15 but it’s who they were against. Fox and Smid played well at 3 and 4 and the bench gave us more than usual.
Dollar night works better tonight, 1,257 show up. Too bad we couldn't win for them. I ask Dad if I lost the game for us and he says no, I put us in position to win but the team didn't execute on the last possession. I wonder though. There were lots of things I might have done that could have made the difference in a one point loss.
On the road for our last two preconference games (In our conf. we play 18 games).
If we manage to split we’d be 5-4 going into the conf. That would be way better than I’d expected, even with the weak schedule.
November 25
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
Well, much as I hate to admit it, Jess Wynn, the boy wonder, and son of the sainted Will Wynn, isn’t doing such a bad job at SDSU. He has his team at 2-2 after 4 road games.
Sure, they haven’t played anybody who is anybody, but teams at the bottom of Div. I are well advised NOT to schedule any good teams as they begin their possible climb up from the bottom. What’s the point? The hope is to slowly and steadily recruit kids who will make the program better, and as that happens, to beef up the schedule little by little.
Back to Wynn and his coaching. He really only has three players, his PG, Mike Bick, his C, Tre Price, and Tim Clerq, who starts at SG, backs up the PG, and could probably play any of the 5 spots on the court. Clerq is easily the best player on the team.
Wynn has done a fairly sophisticated job of using 7-8 players to fill the 3 and 4 spots. None of them do much of anything, but rotating them in and out will give someone a chance to emerge, at least that seems to be the hope. In the meantime at least there are fresh legs on the court.
Rookie coaches, especially those with little or no experience (Wynn never played the game and never served as an official assistant though he was on the bench with his dad for the past two seasons) often lose games they should win. This hasn’t happened to SDSU, at least not yet. The two games they lost, they lost on nights where they simply didn’t play well, despite the coach trying as many things as there were to try.
I’m a long way from being ready to be impressed by the kid from Storrs, but I am not suggesting that he be put in the recycle bin yet. Let’s see if he is able to grow and learn from here.
Jess Wynn’s journal, continued:
We look at the numbers every possible way and come to the conclusion that after Clerq, Bick and Price… we don’t have much. We decide to try Fox at the 3 and to give Evans more time. We don’t mind playing with the lineup and we’ll keep doing it as long as we need to, which may be all season.
Loyola-Maryland, 0-3 is in. They seem to RB well but they’re terrible with the ball.
This is our home opener and I’m hoping for a win. We’re trying everything to get a crowd. For the last 3 years the average home crowd has been 642 so we’ve been filling about 1 in 10 seats. I speak with Truck and he agrees to “Dollar night.” Anyone buying ticket in advance gets in for a dollar.
11/28: Up 7, 15:22. Up 4, 8:33. We’re not doing a lot on O but our D is stopping them. Up 6, 3:45. 24-24 at the half.
Clerq is scoring, as usual, Price is playing really well inside and Bick is doing well at the Point. I tell the guys we need to generate some O, and to keep doing what we’re doing on D. We never trailed and the only tie after 0-0 was at the buzzer.
We go on an 11-0 run to start the half. Up 17, 13:59. Up 20, 8:38. Up 20, 3:44. 60-43 at the end. Excellent D.
One thing we’ve done really well is staying out of foul trouble.
20, 6, 3 for Clerq, 13, 9, 2 for Price, 9, 4, 3 for Bick. Smid had 8, 3, 2, 1 and held his man down. Fox was okay at the 3 and Holden had a good game. Maybe he likes coming from the bench better than starting, some guys do.
Dollar night was a bust, 703 in attendance. TOs continue to be a problem, 17 tonight.
4-1 North Dakota is in. These guys have been playing well. We need to stop their backcourt.
12/1: Up 6 with energy, 15:44. #2 on Clerq, 14:22, up 8. That hurts. #2 on Price, 9:38, up 9. First time we’ve had to deal with foul trouble. Up 3, 2:11. 29-27 at the half.
I tell them to try to stay out of foul trouble but we have whistle happy refs tonight. Holden is helping from the bench and Fox is playing well at both ends.
#3 on Clerq, 17:33, up 6. #4 on Clerq, 14:22, up 14. Somehow we’re holding the lead with our best player barely in the game. #3 on Price, 11:21, up 16.
Our 2nd best is also missing minutes. #4 on Price, 5:33, up 15. Bick is steadying us, Holden is doing a great job, Fox is handcuffing his man, and Smid is steady. #5 on Clerq, 3:01. He played 16 minutes. Up 14. 64-53 at the end. Great D won this one.
15 TOs but +8 RBs and we made it tough on them to score and to move the ball. Holden had 14, 5, 1, 3, Bick had 11, 5, 2, Price had 9, 6, 4, 2, Fox had 9, 5, 2, 1, 2, Smid had 5, 4 and played good D. Have we found our rotation?
622 show up.
We decide to do another dollar day and to play up our 4-2 record, which I am thrilled with.
Andy Gray continues to call recruits every week but not much is happening and we don’t expect much until SAT scores come in at the end of January.
Northern Kentucky, 2-4 is in. 1 and 2 do most of the scoring but they’re both sloppy. This team doesn’t look that good.
12/5: Up 2, 15:01. Down 3, 7:22. #2 on Clerq, 6:39, up 1. #2 on Bick, 3:11, down 4. 35-35 at the half. No foul trouble for our first 5 games and nothing but for the past two. We’re getting help from the bench and taking care of the ball. Need to tighten the D.
Up 2, 15:27. #3 on Bick, 14:11, down 1. #3 on Clerq, 11:19, down 7. #4 on Bick, 9:22, down 10. I raise the level to 8 and go man. #4 on Clerq, 6:03, down 5. We’re not that far down but with 2 of my top 3 in foul trouble it’s not easy.
#5 on Clerq, 2:57, down 3. #5 on Bick, 1:19, down 5. It’s only #6 so no shots. They get it to 7, :55.
Holden hits a 3, :41, we foul. They hit both, down 6. Fox hits a 3, we foul, :27. They hit the 1st miss the 2nd, we hit another 3, foul, :13, down 1.
They miss the 1st, we RB, TO, :08. I want Price to take the shot. We bring it in, they steal the pass and keep it away from us. 64-65 at the end.
So close! Fouls to Bick and Clerq killed us. I didn’t get a T but it was close. Maybe I should have taken one early in the half. After the game Dad says I should have, sometimes it changes the way the class are going.
We were out rebounded again but only 9 TOs. Fouls were 13-15 but it’s who they were against. Fox and Smid played well at 3 and 4 and the bench gave us more than usual.
Dollar night works better tonight, 1,257 show up. Too bad we couldn't win for them. I ask Dad if I lost the game for us and he says no, I put us in position to win but the team didn't execute on the last possession. I wonder though. There were lots of things I might have done that could have made the difference in a one point loss.
On the road for our last two preconference games (In our conf. we play 18 games).
If we manage to split we’d be 5-4 going into the conf. That would be way better than I’d expected, even with the weak schedule.
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Tough times on the road
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 1:40 pm
At 1-6 North Carolina Central next. They’ve played a much tougher schedule than we have, and they beat Vanderbilt. We’ll need to play well against these guys and I’m telling my guys to ignore their record.
12/12: The lead goes back and forth early. At 3:02 Clerq picks up #2, yet again, and it’s 36-39 at the half. Price, Bick and Fox play really well, Smid is invisible. Holden helps out from the bench. The D isn’t getting it done.
NC Central jumps out to a quick 2nd half lead, getting it to 9, with 11:22 to go. We get it down to 1 four different times, with the ball and a chance to take the lead on three occasions. Clerq picks up #4 with 2:01 left but he stays in. The final score is 66-70. The opportunities were there but we didn’t capitalize.
13 TOs, not bad for us (they had 15. -3 RBs. We let them shoot 45.3%, but which is not good D.
13, 11 for Price, 16, 1, 1 for Fox, 12, 5, 3, 1, 1 for Bick. Clerq was average at best, and Smid was awful. No idea what to do about the PF slot. Holden did good work.
The staff decides to give Smid one more game as a starter. We’ll go to either Evans or Root next if we need to make a change.
At 5-5 Nebraska-Omaha next. They’ve played some good teams. Their 2 can play.
12/19: Down 6 early. Then it was 9, 7:27. We steadied but couldn’t get any closer, 34-43 at the half. D was not there.
Clerq and their two are matching hoop for hoop, they each have a dozen. RBs and TOs are even.
Still 9, 14:07. I go man, double the 2, level 8. Down 4, 5:22. Level 9. Down 11, 3:55. Level 10. We can’t close, 69-78 at the end.
Clerq had 28, 6, 1, 1, Price had 12, 10, 5, 1. Nothing from Smid, we’ll probably make another change. The difference was the bench, ours had 13, 10, 5, theirs had 33, 7, 7.
I suppose 4-5 is better than I would have predicted but losing our last three is disappointing.
We decide to go with Root at the 4 spot.
Our biggest problem is undoubtedly ball handling. We have too many TOs and allow too many steals. We’re working on it but we just don’t have the personnel.
Total Sports Magazine
December 25
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
I’m not sure it’s such a happy holiday for our boy Jess Wynn, coach of the SDSU Jackrabbits. The hares have been plucked in their last three games, going from 4-2 to 4-5. They continue to take poor care of the ball, which Wynn has been unable to fix.
He has told this reporter that his goal is to finish the season at .500. For a time this goal looked attainable but his team is now at a crossroads. If they continue down their current path they could well finish at the bottom of the conference. If, on the toher hand, young Wynn can find a way to get them to play the way they did during their three game winning streak, the .500 goal just might be reachable. Let’s see what happens.
The next few games will be the true test that determines whether the young coach spends his future on the bench or at a desk running stats for some business endeavor.
12/12: The lead goes back and forth early. At 3:02 Clerq picks up #2, yet again, and it’s 36-39 at the half. Price, Bick and Fox play really well, Smid is invisible. Holden helps out from the bench. The D isn’t getting it done.
NC Central jumps out to a quick 2nd half lead, getting it to 9, with 11:22 to go. We get it down to 1 four different times, with the ball and a chance to take the lead on three occasions. Clerq picks up #4 with 2:01 left but he stays in. The final score is 66-70. The opportunities were there but we didn’t capitalize.
13 TOs, not bad for us (they had 15. -3 RBs. We let them shoot 45.3%, but which is not good D.
13, 11 for Price, 16, 1, 1 for Fox, 12, 5, 3, 1, 1 for Bick. Clerq was average at best, and Smid was awful. No idea what to do about the PF slot. Holden did good work.
The staff decides to give Smid one more game as a starter. We’ll go to either Evans or Root next if we need to make a change.
At 5-5 Nebraska-Omaha next. They’ve played some good teams. Their 2 can play.
12/19: Down 6 early. Then it was 9, 7:27. We steadied but couldn’t get any closer, 34-43 at the half. D was not there.
Clerq and their two are matching hoop for hoop, they each have a dozen. RBs and TOs are even.
Still 9, 14:07. I go man, double the 2, level 8. Down 4, 5:22. Level 9. Down 11, 3:55. Level 10. We can’t close, 69-78 at the end.
Clerq had 28, 6, 1, 1, Price had 12, 10, 5, 1. Nothing from Smid, we’ll probably make another change. The difference was the bench, ours had 13, 10, 5, theirs had 33, 7, 7.
I suppose 4-5 is better than I would have predicted but losing our last three is disappointing.
We decide to go with Root at the 4 spot.
Our biggest problem is undoubtedly ball handling. We have too many TOs and allow too many steals. We’re working on it but we just don’t have the personnel.
Total Sports Magazine
December 25
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
I’m not sure it’s such a happy holiday for our boy Jess Wynn, coach of the SDSU Jackrabbits. The hares have been plucked in their last three games, going from 4-2 to 4-5. They continue to take poor care of the ball, which Wynn has been unable to fix.
He has told this reporter that his goal is to finish the season at .500. For a time this goal looked attainable but his team is now at a crossroads. If they continue down their current path they could well finish at the bottom of the conference. If, on the toher hand, young Wynn can find a way to get them to play the way they did during their three game winning streak, the .500 goal just might be reachable. Let’s see what happens.
The next few games will be the true test that determines whether the young coach spends his future on the bench or at a desk running stats for some business endeavor.
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2 nail biters
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:17 pm
First semester grades come out. Holden is at 2.3 but no one else is in any trouble. Our strict study hall policy and careful monitoring by tutors has paid off. This should be a selling point with recruits whose grades are low.
We’re on the road to open the conference season at 3-6 Southern Utah. Like us they’ve been streaky but they’ve played a much tougher schedule. They may be worse with the ball than we are. This one won’t be easy though, they’ve played some tough teams, which is sure to have gotten them to a point we haven’t reached yet.
12/26: This was a back and forth war. The first 10 minutes belonged to, us, as we took a 9 point lead and held it for awhile. Then at 9:22 Bick picked up foul #2 and the lead disappeared. At the half we were up 26-24.
Bick picked up #4 17 seconds into the second half and they went on a run. They led by 12 with 11:19 to go. I put Bick back in, went man at level 8. We cut the lead to 4 with 5:15 left when Bick got #4.
It stayed at 3-5 until 1:45. I called a TO and put Bick in at the 2 spot, gave Clerq the Point, and told him to make something happen. I raised the D to level 10.
Clerq came down and hit a 3, stole a pass and hit another 3. They called time with 1:03 left, and us leading by 1. They turned it over and Clerq fed Price inside for his only hoop, stole a pass in the backcourt and laid it in, getting fouled. He hit the free throw and we were up 6 with :40 left.
They called time again. We pressed, took the air out, and held on for a 58-52 win. Great D and timely play by Clerq gave us this much needed win. We had 15 TOs but we forced 20. Root didn’t do much but he played good D.
Now we get to go home for a few days. The talks with Dad continue on a daily basis. He’s been really helpful.
5-5 Western Illinois is in. They played a weak early schedule. They have balance but no outstanding player. Their SF is their best.
12/29: I’m writing this after midnight, too hyped to sleep. What a game! No one ever led by more than 7, and the biggest margin in the second half was 4. There were nine lead changes and 8 ties.
Price battled foul trouble for most of the second half. It came down to the last minute. With 1:01 left they led by 3. I called a TO and put Clerq at PG. Our D was man to man, level 10 and we had started to press a minute or so ago. We were doubling their C, who had hurt us throughout the game.
Clerq came down, looking for an open shot, couldn’t find it and dished to Fox who threw up a 3 with 2 left on the shot clock. It went in to tie the score, with :25 left when they called time. They brought it down, looking to go inside.
Price tipped the pass to Fox, who threw it to Clerq. They fouled him. He hit the 1st and missed the second. They got the RB, brought it down and called time with :13 left.
They got it in but Bick tipped the pas OB with :04 left. They had trouble getting the ball in due to our pressure (we laid off the in bounds passer) and had to send it into the back court.
Their SG threw up a prayer that was not answered. 50-49 and we’re 2-0!
The crowd of 914 went wild. 10, 7, 1, 2 for Fox, 10, 5, 1, 1 for Price, 13, 3, 3, 1, 1 for Clerq. D won it for us tonight, as we held them to 28% shooting.
We won the RB duel by 9 but had 19 TOs (they had 13). My guys were exhilarated by this win, as they should have been. Clerq was named POG, but it should have been Fox, who held his man scoreless. Root again played great D, but he gave us nothing on O. The only guy I haven’t tried at the 4 is Pohl but we’ve won 2 in a row so no changes at this time.
Total Sports Magazine
January 1, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
Happy New Year to the neophyte coach of the Jackrabbits. Two straight wins have got to be making him feel like this could be a very good year, as Mr. Sinatra used to sing.
And they were quite the wins, with the bunnies coming on late and holding on in tough situations. This team has been up and down but Wynn has them playing with confidence right now.
We’re on the road to open the conference season at 3-6 Southern Utah. Like us they’ve been streaky but they’ve played a much tougher schedule. They may be worse with the ball than we are. This one won’t be easy though, they’ve played some tough teams, which is sure to have gotten them to a point we haven’t reached yet.
12/26: This was a back and forth war. The first 10 minutes belonged to, us, as we took a 9 point lead and held it for awhile. Then at 9:22 Bick picked up foul #2 and the lead disappeared. At the half we were up 26-24.
Bick picked up #4 17 seconds into the second half and they went on a run. They led by 12 with 11:19 to go. I put Bick back in, went man at level 8. We cut the lead to 4 with 5:15 left when Bick got #4.
It stayed at 3-5 until 1:45. I called a TO and put Bick in at the 2 spot, gave Clerq the Point, and told him to make something happen. I raised the D to level 10.
Clerq came down and hit a 3, stole a pass and hit another 3. They called time with 1:03 left, and us leading by 1. They turned it over and Clerq fed Price inside for his only hoop, stole a pass in the backcourt and laid it in, getting fouled. He hit the free throw and we were up 6 with :40 left.
They called time again. We pressed, took the air out, and held on for a 58-52 win. Great D and timely play by Clerq gave us this much needed win. We had 15 TOs but we forced 20. Root didn’t do much but he played good D.
Now we get to go home for a few days. The talks with Dad continue on a daily basis. He’s been really helpful.
5-5 Western Illinois is in. They played a weak early schedule. They have balance but no outstanding player. Their SF is their best.
12/29: I’m writing this after midnight, too hyped to sleep. What a game! No one ever led by more than 7, and the biggest margin in the second half was 4. There were nine lead changes and 8 ties.
Price battled foul trouble for most of the second half. It came down to the last minute. With 1:01 left they led by 3. I called a TO and put Clerq at PG. Our D was man to man, level 10 and we had started to press a minute or so ago. We were doubling their C, who had hurt us throughout the game.
Clerq came down, looking for an open shot, couldn’t find it and dished to Fox who threw up a 3 with 2 left on the shot clock. It went in to tie the score, with :25 left when they called time. They brought it down, looking to go inside.
Price tipped the pass to Fox, who threw it to Clerq. They fouled him. He hit the 1st and missed the second. They got the RB, brought it down and called time with :13 left.
They got it in but Bick tipped the pas OB with :04 left. They had trouble getting the ball in due to our pressure (we laid off the in bounds passer) and had to send it into the back court.
Their SG threw up a prayer that was not answered. 50-49 and we’re 2-0!
The crowd of 914 went wild. 10, 7, 1, 2 for Fox, 10, 5, 1, 1 for Price, 13, 3, 3, 1, 1 for Clerq. D won it for us tonight, as we held them to 28% shooting.
We won the RB duel by 9 but had 19 TOs (they had 13). My guys were exhilarated by this win, as they should have been. Clerq was named POG, but it should have been Fox, who held his man scoreless. Root again played great D, but he gave us nothing on O. The only guy I haven’t tried at the 4 is Pohl but we’ve won 2 in a row so no changes at this time.
Total Sports Magazine
January 1, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
Happy New Year to the neophyte coach of the Jackrabbits. Two straight wins have got to be making him feel like this could be a very good year, as Mr. Sinatra used to sing.
And they were quite the wins, with the bunnies coming on late and holding on in tough situations. This team has been up and down but Wynn has them playing with confidence right now.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14324
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
Playing well and a surprise
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:12 pm
Jess Wynn’s Journal:
At IUPU- Fort Wayne, they’re 4-7, 0-2. They give up LOTS of points. The tapes don’t show an impressive team but the road is never easy. Their 1 and 3 are their players, not much inside.
1/2: We fall behind earl, down 7, 14:22. #2 on Bick, 11:33. Down 5, 9:23. Down 6, 3:19, their PG gets #2. 27-29 at the half. I feel good though, only 5 TOs and we’re +2 in RBs.
#3 on Bick, down 5, 14:22. I go to man, level 8. #4 on Bick (Sigh), 8:44, down 1. Clerq is my PG. Up 12 on a BIG run, 5:11. I put Bick back in at 2:55 and he fouls out at 2:01, up 12. 76-67 at the end.
8 TOs for the game and +5 RBs. They shoot 52% but they only get 44 shots to our 60. 18, 6, 4 for Price, 13, 1, 3, 2 for Clerq and great presence at PG, 10, 5, 1, 1, 1 for Root, and 13, 3, 4 for Smid from the bench.
We actually had lots of weapons tonight. I think confidence is making a real difference. We’re looking great right now. This was the most points we’ve scored all season. We’re in a 2 way tie for 1st and the team we’re tied with comes to our place next.
Total Sports Magazine
January 3, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
What’s gotten into the SDSU Jackrabbits? They’ve won three straight and in their last they looked like an actual team. Boy coach Jess Wynn has his team tied for the conference lead at this early stage. Can it continue? Stay tuned.
1/3: Just as I settle into my recliner at 10:45 p.m., there’s a knock at the door. It’s Mom and Dad who show up for a surprise visit.
“Hello Son, since you’re going so well and you have a two game home stand your mom and I thought we stop by for a few days.”
“What hurricane hit this place!”
“Mom, it’s not that bad, just cluttered. It isn’t really dirty.”
“Look at this, Will, just look!”
“Well, Lenny, I don’t think-”
“Young man, you are going to get yourself a cleaning lady- tomorrow! You can afford it and you obviously can’t keep the place clean yourself. Why if she stayed for two hours a week she could do a load of laundry, wash the floors, dust, and pick up the mess. It wouldn’t cost that much and you could live like an actual human being. I’ll put the place in shape in the morning but you find that cleaning lady!”
I gave into that one quickly. She’s right. I put my secretary, Shirley, on it and she had someone very reliable who would start the following week.
After the explosion it was great having Mom and Dad here. We went to dinner every night, Dad came to practice and they both came to the two games we played while they were here.
My players were in awe of Dad. He didn’t do or say a lot, not wanting to interfere, but I asked him to talk with the team at practice every time, and he came up with some things that were really helpful. The assistants and I made note of all of it.
North Dakota State, 9-3, 3-0, was in to decide first place. They’ve won their last 8. They’ve beaten Seton Hall, Miami, and division rival Oral Roberts this year so they can play. They do give up points though.
Their PG may be the best player in the league and their SG can light it up as well. We need to play tough D on both. They rebound but they turn it over. Should be a battle.
1/5: I ask Dad if he wants to sit on the bench. He emphatically does not. He asks for seats across from the bench and he and Mom get them.
The first half is all back and forth. Their 1 and 5 and Clerq for us get into foul trouble, but Clerq’s is only late in the half. He has a hot hand and keeps us in it, along with Price and Bick. It’s 32-34 at the half.
In the 2nd half we can do no wrong. We start with a 14-3 run and hold the lead from there, never letting them get closer than 6. When Clerq picks up #4, with 2:07 left, we’re up 14.
The final is 65-52. Great D once more and amazing rebounding, 45-31. 17 TOs though. We held them to 27% shooting, which will usually get a win.
27, 7, 2 for Clerq, 14, 13, 3, 2, 1 for Price, 12, 7, 3, 1, 1 for Bick, 5 RBs each for Fox and Root. Pohl had 5, 4, 1 in only 7 minutes. A great win and we are, amazingly enough, alone in 1st place.
Dad spoke to the guys in the locker room after the game and he had everyone’s attention. He found things to say about everyone who played, very analytical. Some praise and some advice regarding what to work on and how to go about it.
1,112 in attendance, a great crowd for us. We’ll really promote our next game.
My folks will be here through 1/10, so they’ll see our next game, which is against the best program in the conference, Oral Roberts, 10-3, 3-1, but against weak competition. Their D is weak but their 1, 2 and 3 all put up big points, combining for 43 per game. These guys will challenge us.
Dad makes the practices and offers his help to me, to the staff, and to the kids. It all helps. Wish he were here longer.
1/9: We played catch up throughout the first half, getting close, even taking the lead now and then and falling back again. We were playing well on O, taking care of the ball, rebounding, but our D couldn’t stop them. Still it was only 37-39 at the half.
They quickly got up 8 in the second and nothing we did got us closer than 4. I kept increasing the level on D, finally getting it to 10. Then in the final 2 minutes I pressed, but the simple truth is that, at least for this one night, Oral Roberts was the better team, 73-80 at the end. Our D has won us a few games this year but it lost this one.
We were +3 in RBs, -1 in TOs, but we let them shoot 47.3%. 14, 14, 3, 2 for Price, 17, 7, 1, 3 for Clerq, 13, 2, 8, 2, 1 for Bick.
Dad spoke after the game. He talked about problems with our man defense, failure to either switch off or fight through picks, failure to get out on the 3 point shooter. Then he gave the guys some ideas about how to solve those problems. He talked about the things we did well, calling players by name with his praise and including all who played.
He concluded with the following:
“When I was coaching I always told my players that in a game that didn’t go OT I had 200 player minutes to hand out- 5 players on the court times 40 minutes per position. Who got those minutes was a vital, and often a difficult decision. How did I figure out who got minutes? Sometimes a guy was talented enough that I played him as many minutes as possible. More often I had to decide between two or more players at a given position. I decided based upon who managed to keep his head in the game more often than the other guy, who worked his butt off in practice- every day, who worked like hell to learn new sets and new skills, who listened and acted upon what I told him, who went out of his way to be a team player, and who kept his grades up and kept out of trouble. That’s the formula. If you want it more than the other guy it will show. And when it shows you’ll get those minutes. I’m guessing Coach Wynn assigns his minutes pretty much the same way… since that’s how I taught him to do it!”
That last got a big laugh but there was a lot of truth in what Dad said.
3,822 saw the game, our best crowd in more than 5 years.
I say goodbye to Mom and Dad after lunch. I’ll really miss them. I ask Dad to please come back. He says he’ll try to but Mom probably won’t be able to get away again before at least the summer.
We’re 8-6, 4-1, and tied with Oral Roberts and No. Dak. ST for first place. Our schedule is really unfavorable as we play both of them at their place in the rematch.
At IUPU- Fort Wayne, they’re 4-7, 0-2. They give up LOTS of points. The tapes don’t show an impressive team but the road is never easy. Their 1 and 3 are their players, not much inside.
1/2: We fall behind earl, down 7, 14:22. #2 on Bick, 11:33. Down 5, 9:23. Down 6, 3:19, their PG gets #2. 27-29 at the half. I feel good though, only 5 TOs and we’re +2 in RBs.
#3 on Bick, down 5, 14:22. I go to man, level 8. #4 on Bick (Sigh), 8:44, down 1. Clerq is my PG. Up 12 on a BIG run, 5:11. I put Bick back in at 2:55 and he fouls out at 2:01, up 12. 76-67 at the end.
8 TOs for the game and +5 RBs. They shoot 52% but they only get 44 shots to our 60. 18, 6, 4 for Price, 13, 1, 3, 2 for Clerq and great presence at PG, 10, 5, 1, 1, 1 for Root, and 13, 3, 4 for Smid from the bench.
We actually had lots of weapons tonight. I think confidence is making a real difference. We’re looking great right now. This was the most points we’ve scored all season. We’re in a 2 way tie for 1st and the team we’re tied with comes to our place next.
Total Sports Magazine
January 3, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
What’s gotten into the SDSU Jackrabbits? They’ve won three straight and in their last they looked like an actual team. Boy coach Jess Wynn has his team tied for the conference lead at this early stage. Can it continue? Stay tuned.
1/3: Just as I settle into my recliner at 10:45 p.m., there’s a knock at the door. It’s Mom and Dad who show up for a surprise visit.
“Hello Son, since you’re going so well and you have a two game home stand your mom and I thought we stop by for a few days.”
“What hurricane hit this place!”
“Mom, it’s not that bad, just cluttered. It isn’t really dirty.”
“Look at this, Will, just look!”
“Well, Lenny, I don’t think-”
“Young man, you are going to get yourself a cleaning lady- tomorrow! You can afford it and you obviously can’t keep the place clean yourself. Why if she stayed for two hours a week she could do a load of laundry, wash the floors, dust, and pick up the mess. It wouldn’t cost that much and you could live like an actual human being. I’ll put the place in shape in the morning but you find that cleaning lady!”
I gave into that one quickly. She’s right. I put my secretary, Shirley, on it and she had someone very reliable who would start the following week.
After the explosion it was great having Mom and Dad here. We went to dinner every night, Dad came to practice and they both came to the two games we played while they were here.
My players were in awe of Dad. He didn’t do or say a lot, not wanting to interfere, but I asked him to talk with the team at practice every time, and he came up with some things that were really helpful. The assistants and I made note of all of it.
North Dakota State, 9-3, 3-0, was in to decide first place. They’ve won their last 8. They’ve beaten Seton Hall, Miami, and division rival Oral Roberts this year so they can play. They do give up points though.
Their PG may be the best player in the league and their SG can light it up as well. We need to play tough D on both. They rebound but they turn it over. Should be a battle.
1/5: I ask Dad if he wants to sit on the bench. He emphatically does not. He asks for seats across from the bench and he and Mom get them.
The first half is all back and forth. Their 1 and 5 and Clerq for us get into foul trouble, but Clerq’s is only late in the half. He has a hot hand and keeps us in it, along with Price and Bick. It’s 32-34 at the half.
In the 2nd half we can do no wrong. We start with a 14-3 run and hold the lead from there, never letting them get closer than 6. When Clerq picks up #4, with 2:07 left, we’re up 14.
The final is 65-52. Great D once more and amazing rebounding, 45-31. 17 TOs though. We held them to 27% shooting, which will usually get a win.
27, 7, 2 for Clerq, 14, 13, 3, 2, 1 for Price, 12, 7, 3, 1, 1 for Bick, 5 RBs each for Fox and Root. Pohl had 5, 4, 1 in only 7 minutes. A great win and we are, amazingly enough, alone in 1st place.
Dad spoke to the guys in the locker room after the game and he had everyone’s attention. He found things to say about everyone who played, very analytical. Some praise and some advice regarding what to work on and how to go about it.
1,112 in attendance, a great crowd for us. We’ll really promote our next game.
My folks will be here through 1/10, so they’ll see our next game, which is against the best program in the conference, Oral Roberts, 10-3, 3-1, but against weak competition. Their D is weak but their 1, 2 and 3 all put up big points, combining for 43 per game. These guys will challenge us.
Dad makes the practices and offers his help to me, to the staff, and to the kids. It all helps. Wish he were here longer.
1/9: We played catch up throughout the first half, getting close, even taking the lead now and then and falling back again. We were playing well on O, taking care of the ball, rebounding, but our D couldn’t stop them. Still it was only 37-39 at the half.
They quickly got up 8 in the second and nothing we did got us closer than 4. I kept increasing the level on D, finally getting it to 10. Then in the final 2 minutes I pressed, but the simple truth is that, at least for this one night, Oral Roberts was the better team, 73-80 at the end. Our D has won us a few games this year but it lost this one.
We were +3 in RBs, -1 in TOs, but we let them shoot 47.3%. 14, 14, 3, 2 for Price, 17, 7, 1, 3 for Clerq, 13, 2, 8, 2, 1 for Bick.
Dad spoke after the game. He talked about problems with our man defense, failure to either switch off or fight through picks, failure to get out on the 3 point shooter. Then he gave the guys some ideas about how to solve those problems. He talked about the things we did well, calling players by name with his praise and including all who played.
He concluded with the following:
“When I was coaching I always told my players that in a game that didn’t go OT I had 200 player minutes to hand out- 5 players on the court times 40 minutes per position. Who got those minutes was a vital, and often a difficult decision. How did I figure out who got minutes? Sometimes a guy was talented enough that I played him as many minutes as possible. More often I had to decide between two or more players at a given position. I decided based upon who managed to keep his head in the game more often than the other guy, who worked his butt off in practice- every day, who worked like hell to learn new sets and new skills, who listened and acted upon what I told him, who went out of his way to be a team player, and who kept his grades up and kept out of trouble. That’s the formula. If you want it more than the other guy it will show. And when it shows you’ll get those minutes. I’m guessing Coach Wynn assigns his minutes pretty much the same way… since that’s how I taught him to do it!”
That last got a big laugh but there was a lot of truth in what Dad said.
3,822 saw the game, our best crowd in more than 5 years.
I say goodbye to Mom and Dad after lunch. I’ll really miss them. I ask Dad to please come back. He says he’ll try to but Mom probably won’t be able to get away again before at least the summer.
We’re 8-6, 4-1, and tied with Oral Roberts and No. Dak. ST for first place. Our schedule is really unfavorable as we play both of them at their place in the rematch.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14324
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
We keep winning, but not by much
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:45 pm
Total Sports Magazine
January 10, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
Dad to the rescue. The legendary Will Wynn was in Brookings for a few days. Hew was seen at practice and at two Jackrabbits games. Son Jess was clearly leaning heavily on dad for advice and counsel. As it turned out SDSU only split the two home games, but given that they were against the conference’s two best teams that seems acceptable.
Young Mr. Not Ready For Prime Time Wynn would be well served if the elder Wynn were to move to town. Given that this isn’t likely to happen, tough times may be ahead for the bunnies.
Jess Wynn’s Journal:
We’re at IUPU-Indianapolis, 5-9, 1-4 next. They’ve lost 4 straight and teams are scoring on them. They don’t look that good but road games are never easy.
1/12: Another back and forth first half. They went up by 9 with 6:28 to go and then we came all the way back to take the lead, 37-34 at the half. This seems to be one of our good D, good RB, terrible BH nights. I yap about ball handling at the half and tell them to continue the tough D.
We explode out of the locker room to a 14 point lead with 14:32 left. We get it to 19 by the end, never being threatened in the 2nd half. The final is 69-50. Great D!
+17 RB, only -2 TO, we had 17. We held them to 31.7% from the floor with which I am VERY pleased. 15, 7, 2, 1, 1 for Clerq, 10, 14, 1, 2 for Price, 11, 5, 1, 1, 1 for Fox, 8, 5, 3, 1 for Bick. Holden, Pohl and Robin all played well from the bench.
Still in a 3 way tie.
9 wins. Lots of people thought we’d be lucky to get 8 and we have at least 13 games to play.
This coaching thing is definitely a challenge. There are always more things to think about and work at than there is time to get to them. I’m learning to delegate to my assistants more, and to prioritize better. My mathematical mind helps and I have spreadsheets for everything.
On the personal side I finally met someone. I LIKE women but I have to say they are thin on the ground in South Dakota. From late April until early January I met no one I was interested in dating. Finally, a few days ago, I bumped into a doc student in the school cafeteria. She sat next to me in a very UNcrowded cafeteria, introduced herself, and started talking about stats (that’s what she’s getting the Ph. D in).
She knew who I was and what I did, and that my background is in stats. We clicked, two stats geeks. I am taking her to dinner tomorrow night (1/15). Oh, she’s about 5’1”, rail thin, with short, dark hair. She’s from Minneapolis, so she’s a city girl lost in the boonies. Her name is Ellie Grant.
UMKC, 7-8, 3-3 is in town. Lost 3 of last 4, 6 of last 9. No real go to guy.
1/16: They hang with us through the first half. No one leads by more than 5 at any point. At the half it’s 28-26.
We’re doing everything well except playing D, they’re shooting 43% which is too high. We have 4 TOs and +3 RBs.
The 2nd half is much like the first. We finally take a 7 point lead with 3:21 to go, and it’s between 4 and 7 the rest of the way. They hit a 3 at the buzzer to make the final 64-61.
7 TOs! Our best of the year. +4 RBs. But we let them shoot 44.2%. Still, it’s a win, #10 against 6 losses. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this kind of success.
We showed tremendous balance with 8 guys getting between 5 and 11 points.
Still in a 3 way tie for the lead.
Pohl has been playing well so we’re giving him more minutes.
We’re at 8-8, 3-4 Oakland next. 3-6 in their last 9. Their leading scorer (19.4, flunked off the team. They were very tough before that happened.
1/19: We dominate the first half with Tre Price completely controlling the inside at both ends. We go in leading 33-22.
In the 2nd both Clerq and Bick get into serious foul trouble and we watch our lead shrink. With 2:01 left and Clerq on the bench with 5 fouls the lead is 1.
We work it into Price on every possession from that point on and build the lead to 8 beforee they finally decide to start fouling us. We hit most of the free throws so despite their very hard charge we win 59-56.
+8 RBs but 15 TOs (-6). Both teams shot 40%.
Tre Price was the difference with 17, 13, 1. Clerq had 13, 4, 3, 2, and 5 guys had either 4 or 5 points. We keep finding ways to win.
And then there were two, No. Dak. ST lost.
Total Sports Magazine
January 21, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
I guess I’m going to need to find ano
ther story. Coach Jess Wynn has won 7 of his last 8 and sits in a tie for the conference lead with a 7-1 conf. record, 11-6 overall. When we first conceived of this series we thought we’d be writing a story about a coach who got his job through connections, ahead of more deserving people, and who then fell on his face and utterly failed. Well, we’re sticking by the first half of this statement but it looks like this kid knows how to coach. With three players and a bunch of parts he got at yard sales, this kid is getting it done.
January 10, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
Dad to the rescue. The legendary Will Wynn was in Brookings for a few days. Hew was seen at practice and at two Jackrabbits games. Son Jess was clearly leaning heavily on dad for advice and counsel. As it turned out SDSU only split the two home games, but given that they were against the conference’s two best teams that seems acceptable.
Young Mr. Not Ready For Prime Time Wynn would be well served if the elder Wynn were to move to town. Given that this isn’t likely to happen, tough times may be ahead for the bunnies.
Jess Wynn’s Journal:
We’re at IUPU-Indianapolis, 5-9, 1-4 next. They’ve lost 4 straight and teams are scoring on them. They don’t look that good but road games are never easy.
1/12: Another back and forth first half. They went up by 9 with 6:28 to go and then we came all the way back to take the lead, 37-34 at the half. This seems to be one of our good D, good RB, terrible BH nights. I yap about ball handling at the half and tell them to continue the tough D.
We explode out of the locker room to a 14 point lead with 14:32 left. We get it to 19 by the end, never being threatened in the 2nd half. The final is 69-50. Great D!
+17 RB, only -2 TO, we had 17. We held them to 31.7% from the floor with which I am VERY pleased. 15, 7, 2, 1, 1 for Clerq, 10, 14, 1, 2 for Price, 11, 5, 1, 1, 1 for Fox, 8, 5, 3, 1 for Bick. Holden, Pohl and Robin all played well from the bench.
Still in a 3 way tie.
9 wins. Lots of people thought we’d be lucky to get 8 and we have at least 13 games to play.
This coaching thing is definitely a challenge. There are always more things to think about and work at than there is time to get to them. I’m learning to delegate to my assistants more, and to prioritize better. My mathematical mind helps and I have spreadsheets for everything.
On the personal side I finally met someone. I LIKE women but I have to say they are thin on the ground in South Dakota. From late April until early January I met no one I was interested in dating. Finally, a few days ago, I bumped into a doc student in the school cafeteria. She sat next to me in a very UNcrowded cafeteria, introduced herself, and started talking about stats (that’s what she’s getting the Ph. D in).
She knew who I was and what I did, and that my background is in stats. We clicked, two stats geeks. I am taking her to dinner tomorrow night (1/15). Oh, she’s about 5’1”, rail thin, with short, dark hair. She’s from Minneapolis, so she’s a city girl lost in the boonies. Her name is Ellie Grant.
UMKC, 7-8, 3-3 is in town. Lost 3 of last 4, 6 of last 9. No real go to guy.
1/16: They hang with us through the first half. No one leads by more than 5 at any point. At the half it’s 28-26.
We’re doing everything well except playing D, they’re shooting 43% which is too high. We have 4 TOs and +3 RBs.
The 2nd half is much like the first. We finally take a 7 point lead with 3:21 to go, and it’s between 4 and 7 the rest of the way. They hit a 3 at the buzzer to make the final 64-61.
7 TOs! Our best of the year. +4 RBs. But we let them shoot 44.2%. Still, it’s a win, #10 against 6 losses. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this kind of success.
We showed tremendous balance with 8 guys getting between 5 and 11 points.
Still in a 3 way tie for the lead.
Pohl has been playing well so we’re giving him more minutes.
We’re at 8-8, 3-4 Oakland next. 3-6 in their last 9. Their leading scorer (19.4, flunked off the team. They were very tough before that happened.
1/19: We dominate the first half with Tre Price completely controlling the inside at both ends. We go in leading 33-22.
In the 2nd both Clerq and Bick get into serious foul trouble and we watch our lead shrink. With 2:01 left and Clerq on the bench with 5 fouls the lead is 1.
We work it into Price on every possession from that point on and build the lead to 8 beforee they finally decide to start fouling us. We hit most of the free throws so despite their very hard charge we win 59-56.
+8 RBs but 15 TOs (-6). Both teams shot 40%.
Tre Price was the difference with 17, 13, 1. Clerq had 13, 4, 3, 2, and 5 guys had either 4 or 5 points. We keep finding ways to win.
And then there were two, No. Dak. ST lost.
Total Sports Magazine
January 21, 2014
The Boy Wonder by Wright Page
I guess I’m going to need to find ano
ther story. Coach Jess Wynn has won 7 of his last 8 and sits in a tie for the conference lead with a 7-1 conf. record, 11-6 overall. When we first conceived of this series we thought we’d be writing a story about a coach who got his job through connections, ahead of more deserving people, and who then fell on his face and utterly failed. Well, we’re sticking by the first half of this statement but it looks like this kid knows how to coach. With three players and a bunch of parts he got at yard sales, this kid is getting it done.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14324
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
2 more wins, 13-6, 9-1
by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:17 pm
Jess Wynn’s Journal:
7 out of 8? That’s just crazy!
Back in town so Ellie and I spend some time together. We work on some of her stats assignments- geeks idea of a hot time. If I ever left coaching, which I can’t imagine doing right now, it would be to do what Ellie’s doing, doctoral work in stats.
We’re seeing a lot of each other when I’m in town, even though it’s brand new. I am NOT the marrying type, which I made clear to Ellie right from the start. She said that with 2 ½ more years of graduate work ahead of her marriage was the last thing on her mind. Good! I don’t want marriage, I don’t want kids, I don’t even want to live with anyone. I like my space.
Two straight at home. The first is against 3-14, 1-7 South Dakota. They just upset No. Dak. St after losing 8 in a row. Go figure! After looking at their games I don’t know how they won that game except that they hit 10 threes. That will do it some nights. We’ve been hammering away at “These guys beat a #1 team” over and over again while practicing getting out on the 3 point shooters.
1/23: Tre Price got in early foul trouble and they went inside for the whole first half. We were up 38-34 at the half.
In the 2nd Tre continued to foul. Fortunately Doug Pohl played really well in his place and we finally pulled away, beginning with a 14-3 run that started at the 9 minute mark.
We eventually built the lead to 21 and, for the first time all year, I was able to clear my bench and play everyone. What a great feeling! The final was 74-58, one of the few big wins we’ve had.
They made 10 threes, which didn’t please me, but most came after the issue was decided. 17, 8, 1, 3, 2 for Clerq, 13, 2, 4, 3 for Bick, 12, 3, 1 for Pohl from the bench, 8, 6 for Root. Should Pohl start? Not yet, don’t break up a winning combination.
4,019 at the game. Loving these crowds.
We and ORU are now 2 up on the rest (or more).
8-10, 5-4 Southern Utah is in. We won by 6 at their place in the conference opener. They’ve been erratic, both at home and away.
1/26: Strange game. We mostly led, but it was never by much. Neither team played very well and as a result it stayed close. We haven’t been passive for a long time but that’s what we were tonight. Fortunately, so were they.
We led 37-34 at the half and stretched it to 10 at one point in the 2nd, but then we let them back in, leading by only 2 at the 5 minute mark. Then we stretched it out a again and they couldn’t catch us. 61-54 at the end.
The O wasn’t very good but our D carried us to the win. Another game where balance was the key. Two guys had 11, and 6 others had between 5 and 9. 7 TOs for Bick did NOT help.
+6 TOs (13), -4 RBs, and the shooting percentages were even. We do seem to keep finding ways to win.
The next big event is the announcement of SAT scores. We’re hoping this will lead to some new recruits.
7 out of 8? That’s just crazy!
Back in town so Ellie and I spend some time together. We work on some of her stats assignments- geeks idea of a hot time. If I ever left coaching, which I can’t imagine doing right now, it would be to do what Ellie’s doing, doctoral work in stats.
We’re seeing a lot of each other when I’m in town, even though it’s brand new. I am NOT the marrying type, which I made clear to Ellie right from the start. She said that with 2 ½ more years of graduate work ahead of her marriage was the last thing on her mind. Good! I don’t want marriage, I don’t want kids, I don’t even want to live with anyone. I like my space.
Two straight at home. The first is against 3-14, 1-7 South Dakota. They just upset No. Dak. St after losing 8 in a row. Go figure! After looking at their games I don’t know how they won that game except that they hit 10 threes. That will do it some nights. We’ve been hammering away at “These guys beat a #1 team” over and over again while practicing getting out on the 3 point shooters.
1/23: Tre Price got in early foul trouble and they went inside for the whole first half. We were up 38-34 at the half.
In the 2nd Tre continued to foul. Fortunately Doug Pohl played really well in his place and we finally pulled away, beginning with a 14-3 run that started at the 9 minute mark.
We eventually built the lead to 21 and, for the first time all year, I was able to clear my bench and play everyone. What a great feeling! The final was 74-58, one of the few big wins we’ve had.
They made 10 threes, which didn’t please me, but most came after the issue was decided. 17, 8, 1, 3, 2 for Clerq, 13, 2, 4, 3 for Bick, 12, 3, 1 for Pohl from the bench, 8, 6 for Root. Should Pohl start? Not yet, don’t break up a winning combination.
4,019 at the game. Loving these crowds.
We and ORU are now 2 up on the rest (or more).
8-10, 5-4 Southern Utah is in. We won by 6 at their place in the conference opener. They’ve been erratic, both at home and away.
1/26: Strange game. We mostly led, but it was never by much. Neither team played very well and as a result it stayed close. We haven’t been passive for a long time but that’s what we were tonight. Fortunately, so were they.
We led 37-34 at the half and stretched it to 10 at one point in the 2nd, but then we let them back in, leading by only 2 at the 5 minute mark. Then we stretched it out a again and they couldn’t catch us. 61-54 at the end.
The O wasn’t very good but our D carried us to the win. Another game where balance was the key. Two guys had 11, and 6 others had between 5 and 9. 7 TOs for Bick did NOT help.
+6 TOs (13), -4 RBs, and the shooting percentages were even. We do seem to keep finding ways to win.
The next big event is the announcement of SAT scores. We’re hoping this will lead to some new recruits.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14324
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
2 very big games
by Wayne23 » Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:49 am
We beat No. Dak. St by 13 at our place. They’ve won their last 3 and 6 of 8. They score outside but rebound well. Not great with the ball. I’d feel a whole lot better if I had Bick, but that won’t happen.
2/6: This game pretty much defines the concept of “big win!” It almost assures that we won’t finish below 2nd in conference. We came out with a huge run, 19-2. From there we built the lead to 25 with 7:10 to go. At the half it was 49-26. Clerq was on fire and Price owned the inside. Pohl and Fox played great ball.
In the second half we protected our lead and never let them go on a run. Clerq licked up his 4th foul with 2:19 to go but it was too late to matter. The final was 85-66.
We were +8 in RBs, +6 in TOs (we had 9). Both teams shot 44%, but the real difference was at the line where we went 21-26 and they went 6-10.
Clerq had a career best 32, 2, 3, with only 2 TOs, beating there PG, who is their best player. Price had 15, 17, 3, 2, Pohl had 14, 7, 1, 2, Fox had 11, 4, 6. It was my biggest win as a head coach.
Dad and I talked into the wee hours.
Now the battle for first at Oral Roberts.
ORU is 18-4, 11-2. They beat us by 7 at our place. They’ve won 9 of 10. They are very strong outside but not so strong inside. If they have a weakness it’s rebounding. We need to exploit that. Last time we matched their backcourt, slightly edged their front, but their bench beat ours BIG. If we’re to have a chance that has to change. Let’s see what happens.
2/9: We jumped out to an early lead, going up 7 with 13:22 left. ORU turned it around with a run, going up 2 with 9:49 left. At the half we trailed 27-33.
We got it to 2 early in the second and hung on, taking the lead a couple of times. We were tied at 5:44.
Then the whistles started and they devastated us. In the next minute and a half Price, Fox and Clerq all picked up #4, two of them on touch fouls. At 3:22, Clerq got #5 and Fox followed at 3:01 on a terrible call. I picked up my first T ever. The final was 61-69.
Lots of things caused this loss, 19 TOs (-6), we didn’t win the battle inside (+1 RB) by a big enough margin, and we let them shoot 45.5%. But we were in it until the bad calls started to come.
All of our starters played really well except Price, who only played 22 minutes due to fouls.
Price has a sore calf but he should be ready for our next game, as should Bick. Pohl is going to start for Root, he’s been really good in the last two games.
Once again Dad and I talked late into the night, or morning, actually. Our 4 remaining games are all against the bottom of the conf., so we should finish 2nd, which is way beyond what I had expected, and even hoped. Unless we completely collapse we will exceed all expectations. I’m thrilled with the way this season has gone down.
2/6: This game pretty much defines the concept of “big win!” It almost assures that we won’t finish below 2nd in conference. We came out with a huge run, 19-2. From there we built the lead to 25 with 7:10 to go. At the half it was 49-26. Clerq was on fire and Price owned the inside. Pohl and Fox played great ball.
In the second half we protected our lead and never let them go on a run. Clerq licked up his 4th foul with 2:19 to go but it was too late to matter. The final was 85-66.
We were +8 in RBs, +6 in TOs (we had 9). Both teams shot 44%, but the real difference was at the line where we went 21-26 and they went 6-10.
Clerq had a career best 32, 2, 3, with only 2 TOs, beating there PG, who is their best player. Price had 15, 17, 3, 2, Pohl had 14, 7, 1, 2, Fox had 11, 4, 6. It was my biggest win as a head coach.
Dad and I talked into the wee hours.
Now the battle for first at Oral Roberts.
ORU is 18-4, 11-2. They beat us by 7 at our place. They’ve won 9 of 10. They are very strong outside but not so strong inside. If they have a weakness it’s rebounding. We need to exploit that. Last time we matched their backcourt, slightly edged their front, but their bench beat ours BIG. If we’re to have a chance that has to change. Let’s see what happens.
2/9: We jumped out to an early lead, going up 7 with 13:22 left. ORU turned it around with a run, going up 2 with 9:49 left. At the half we trailed 27-33.
We got it to 2 early in the second and hung on, taking the lead a couple of times. We were tied at 5:44.
Then the whistles started and they devastated us. In the next minute and a half Price, Fox and Clerq all picked up #4, two of them on touch fouls. At 3:22, Clerq got #5 and Fox followed at 3:01 on a terrible call. I picked up my first T ever. The final was 61-69.
Lots of things caused this loss, 19 TOs (-6), we didn’t win the battle inside (+1 RB) by a big enough margin, and we let them shoot 45.5%. But we were in it until the bad calls started to come.
All of our starters played really well except Price, who only played 22 minutes due to fouls.
Price has a sore calf but he should be ready for our next game, as should Bick. Pohl is going to start for Root, he’s been really good in the last two games.
Once again Dad and I talked late into the night, or morning, actually. Our 4 remaining games are all against the bottom of the conf., so we should finish 2nd, which is way beyond what I had expected, and even hoped. Unless we completely collapse we will exceed all expectations. I’m thrilled with the way this season has gone down.
- Wayne23
- DDS:CB Support Squad
- Posts: 14324
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm
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